defenders will tell you that he made enormous strides in the effort to make the catholic church a safe environment for children. remember the first pope to meet with victims of sex abuse which he did for the first time in the united states in april 2008 and did six times total over the course of his papacy, the first pope to apologize directly for the crisis to institute zero tolerance as the official policy of the church. critics will say much of that was too little too late. too much was left undone but that of course is not the only issue that people will remember about this pope. many liberals in the catholic church, for example, would praise him on some fronts but suggest overall his leadership rolled back the clock on the reforming spirit of the second vatican council in the mid 1960s. many women particularly religious women in the united states, nuns, willmember the crackdowns on american nuns that unfolded on his watch. while his admirers, i submit, will probably remember him as one of the great teaching popes of modern times perhaps of all time who for almost eight years led a sort of glo